Opening his eyes, Kiyeri saw the wooden rafters of the ceiling. His first thought was simply relief that he didn't have to visit the Beyond this time. He wasn't nauseous, his breathing was easy, that meant he wasn't dead. Was he just sleeping? Fainted? It was unclear. Already used to waking up in the most unexpected places, he didn't feel panic, but as his memories quickly returned, a slight anxiety began to flutter in his chest. If he’d been laid out this gently, not even restrained, that could only mean one of two things: either those three really meant what they said - and things went peacefully - or Ashiya, without a second thought for logic or consequence, had blasted his way through and dragged Kiyeri to safety.

Quickly feeling around his waist, Kiyeri realized that the wound was still not healed, but it was already clean.

Slowly and carefully raising himself to a sitting position, he scanned the room. “Simple furnishings, small room, but clean bedding. The noise coming from all sides. Probably a town inn? Well, the town hasn’t burned down, that’s a good start.”

Kiyeri’s eyes stopped at a wicker basket on the table, covered with a towel. “Let this be food, let this be food!” Praying to some gods of fodder, he slowly lowered one foot after the other to the floor and, half-bent, crawled to the basket. For some reason, his sides, which had been healthy yesterday, felt like they had been kicked today. The anxiety only made him feel worse.

Under the towel lay fresh, still warm buns with meat and a note: “If Kiye wakes up before I get back, I’m out looking for clothes. “ Kiyeri did not doubt for a second that Ashiya himself was alive and well, although it was not that the young man was invincible, Kiyeri had just always been convinced that Ashiya could get out of any situation, the only thing to worry about was what would happen to his surroundings.

That smell of the buns made his stomach growl loudly, demanding sacrifices, there was nothing left to do but sit down and stuff it. Next to the basket stood a jug full of kvass. Although technically Kiyeri was now sick and really did not want to think about manners, he could’ve drunk straight from the jug but still bothered to get a cup. After pouring himself kvass and grabbing a bun, he snacked without hesitation.

Once the food hit his stomach, something became clear. "When you're hungry, you really don't think with your whole head... Half of the arrow was stuck in my gut, I don't know what damage I did pulling it out. Then, I fainted for no reason and was probably kicked and now I'm stuffing buns down my throat..." Kiyeri’s face turned pale.

Just as he started thinking about the one who had fired those arrows…, the door to the room slowly opened and a young man entered with quiet, small steps.

Long black boots, light linen pants, and a long black tunic girded with a leather belt, the folds and edges of the tunic were trimmed with gold threads, national symbols of the Sun. Long black hair fluttered in all directions. For a moment, Kiyeri choked, not understanding whether he knew the young man or not. But this stranger, seeing Kiyeri at the table, grinned broadly and called his name, dispelling all doubts.

“Kiye! How are you feeling?” Ashiya walked towards the table, dropping all the things he had brought along on the way, "Ah, please wait, I'll share some mana."

"Someone‘s in a good mood..." Kiyeri thought, adding to his anxiety.

Coming closer, Ashiya placed his hand on Kiyeri’s heart and sent energy threads, while other hand was already loosening the bandages.

"Kiye, we have to start the treatment right away." He said with a worried face, then looked at the buns as if counting how many were missing.

"You're wearing makeup...?"  Kiyeri asked, still confused.

"H-E-A-L-I-N-G “, Ashiya separated each syllable, thus forcing the patient to focus. “Yes. It‘s a border town, with mixed traditions. Today‘s a festival here, while buying clothes, I ran into such a stall."

Kiyeri’s head began to spin, “Wait, wait, wait. Let's start from the beginning. Sit down and tell me what happened. First, why did I lose consciousness? And what happened after that?"

"Really! I wonder why!" Ashiya snorted, but his face showed no positive emotions.

Kiyeri's head went numb "No good, this face doesn't bode well."

Making sure that the energy given would be enough for healing, Ashiya pulled his hand away, sat down on the chair, and chose a bun from the basket. Watching him, Kiyeri even stopped chewing.

Ashiya continued after the first bite, "After Kiye lost consciousness, we couldn't escape far. They really came prepared in case we ran."

"Prepared...? Run?" The bun fell out of Kiyeri's hand, and a bad feeling like a giant spider began to crawl down his back, but Kiyeri tried his best not to show it on his face.

"Yes. I grabbed Kiye and ran towards the door, but they blocked my way. Of course, it didn't help, they're like dry sticks against me." Ashiya laughed and Kiyeri broke out in a cold sweat.

Buried memories clawed their way up - screams of people burning alive in Ashiya’s flames came flooding back. The piece of bun stuck in his throat refused to be swallowed after several attempts and he lowered his eyes.

Ashiya obviously couldn't help but notice such a reaction. An empty cup appeared at the table spot where Kiyeri stared blankly. Then kvass from the jug began to flow into that cup. All this time, silence reigned in the room, which simply rang in Kiyeri’s ears. When the cup was full, Ashiya broke the silence using a much softer tone than before.

"When I said they were just dry sticks, I didn't mean it directly... I meant that physically neither Dali nor Ruki could stop me... Kiye..." Ashiya pushed the glass closer, "Please drink."

Kiyeri didn't know what to do and covered his face with his palms in despair.

A year ago, while escaping from the dungeon, he accidentally came across Ashiya locked there. And although he knew why the latter was there, in a difficult situation, a decision had to be made quickly, pursuers were already on his heels, but his heart did not allow to leave the young man to his fate. Kiyeri knew that he was taking a ticking bomb with him, he knew how difficult it would be to control him and how dangerous he was. Maybe because Ashiya had never threatened him directly, maybe because the young man was the first to show him respect and intercede despite their status differences, or maybe for other reasons, but at that moment Kiyeri decided to take him along and promised himself that he would help Ashiya regain his honor and recover what was taken from him for those crimes. Most importantly, he promised to never look at Ashiya, like at the monster.

But that promise had been broken many times before. And now, Kiyeri's face is hidden, buried in his palms. You don't have to be smart to understand what he's thinking, the image speaks for itself.

I know,

He knows,

And I know that he knows.

And none of it is just about this one thing.

"What a fucking eloquent silence..." Kiyeri thought to himself. Deciding that there was no other way but forward, and having rehearsed the same parade countless times, he rubbed his face with his hands, took a few sips from that cup, and leaned on one elbow as if nothing had happened, resting his chin on his palm.

“What happened after that? “ Kiyeri chose to push through the awkwardness.

Ashiya cleared his throat and looked out the window, “I forced my way through. Even though they were chasing, they kept their distance and didn't raise their weapons, so I didn't attack until Seyre used a spell and raised the ground under my feet. I tripped and we both rolled down the street, I only managed to cover Kiye‘s head from the blows“, Ashiya cast a sharp glance at Kiyeri as he spoke again, “I was ready to end them“.

Kiyeri could feel his skull go numb.

“But when I got back on my feet, Ruki yelled something, only I could have known.“ He turned to face that window again, “Make him a barrier for sleep – she said“.

“For me? “ Kiyeri asked, pointing at himself, “Why would I need that?“

“I always felt it wasn't natural for Kiye to go Beyond while sleeping. Everyone knows soul will not leave the body in sleep, so how can this be? More to it, it‘s too simple to pull Kiye back, by just waking up.“

Kiyeri knew, of course, that all those times could be dreams, but when you feel everything so vividly, he decided to just avoid sleep altogether until more info could be obtained. Suddenly, it made sense to him, “You suspect someone is putting a spell on me?“

“I don‘t suspect anymore, now I KNOW it. Kiye was rarely sleeping recently, so I had little time to try, but it seems my Spirit Fire barrier works. I’m far from your level at barriers, but this – I can do. It blocks any interference with the target, as long as I stay awake and keep it up. I wanted to tell Kiye about that, but we were constantly on the run, or worse... Kiye has already died...“, Ashiya clenched his teeth, “We had no time.“

“Let‘s get back to Ruki.“ Kiyeri interrupted that thought process. He wanted to know who could have sent him those dreams, but the ability to do this kind of magic already narrowed suspect list. The most important thing to know now is – what have Ashiya done to others.

“Mhm,“ Ashiya continued more calmly, “I ordered them to stand back and explain themselves.“

“Ordered...“ Kiyeri thought while sighing.

“So they did. Ruki said she heard about the dreams from the same secret source, from which came information about the plan to execute all of us with the Millennium Dagger.“

Kiyeri’s hair stood on its ends. The Millennium Dagger is a relic from an ancient civilization, forged from one of the Celestial Stones of the Land of the Sun. Later it somehow ended up in this Moon kingdom and was displayed during the rituals. The body pierced by that dagger immediately returns to dust, and the soul is stripped of any earthly attachments, dismembered, and released. Apart from rituals, it has occasionally been used to punish traitors with the death penalty. "Theoretically, this way the Sigils would separate and return to the stones in the temples, but what's the point? Will the Sigils be able to be appropriated more quickly? Moreover, doing it to your grandchildren..."

Ashiya seemed to know what Kiyeri was thinking, “It really is unbelievable, but she was right about the barrier, so I decided to give them a chance and told them to wait until tomorrow when Kiye will recover and we can all talk. Also, Ruki took care of the food and helped me with Kiye’s bandages...“

Kiyeri‘s head was spinning from all that information, “So, where are they now?“

Ashiya nodded his head towards the window.

Kiyeri’s wounds had finished healing when the conversation was only halfway through, so he jumped up from his chair and leaned against the window. The room was on the second floor of the inn, so from above he had a wide view. The street was packed with people, there were a lot of movement, stalls being raised, people dressed in the most beautiful golden ornaments, string music was blowing lightly in the breeze and festive colored lanterns were fluttering in the wind. Below, under the window, there was a terrace full of people dining, trying to catch the last rays of the warm season's sun. At one of the round tables sat a trio, standing out with their noble aura and eye-catching clothes even against such a colorful background.

“Kiye can get changed - I brought some clothes. I didn't talk to them alone, we should listen together. Also, I went back to the temple, and that stone is empty, just like others.“